Au Revoir Beautiful Nora.

Photo of Nora Ephron & Woody Allen via University of Nebraska's Frame by Frame

Of course, I didn't know Nora Ephron personally. I knew her through her writing, which made me feel as if I knew her personally. Reading her novels and watching her movies made me feel as if I had been sharing brunch at a New York sidewalk cafe with her, Carrie Fischer and Meg Ryan for the last twenty years. So, when I heard the news of her death, I felt the pang of sadness you feel when a tragedy has befallen someone you were once very close to, but have lost touch with over the years. 

Her wry observations about men, women, relationships, feminism, modern life, aging, divorce, eating and living well hold the same weight in my mind as advice from my mother and best friends. Ms. Ephron was a careful observer of herself and her world, and what she created with those observations rings with the humor that comes from truth. 

Through her writing, I knew Nora as a woman who wrung every drop of pleasure, pain, laughter and humanity from her one wild and precious life. She shared that journey through her words and shaped the way I think about life with her grace, humor and fad-proof style. I owe her a profound debt that I can only repay by living my own life with as much wit and elegance as she lived hers. I'll do my best. Au Revoir Dear Nora.